Pics from Saskatoon

We had such a nice visit in Saskatoon...it's too bad Arlan didn't feel better while we were there :-( Poor munchkin. So far, only the one molar has come through (while we were in S'toon) -- but he's still plenty grumpy throughout the day so I think there must be more on the way. He isn't nearly as miserable as last weekend, but he just has no patience and is whiny all the day long. Poor mouth...

Here's some pics of Landon doing what he does. Climbing (and jumping and trying to conquer all inanimate objects), and asking "why" about something that .. really, I don't know WHY!! LOL I do like the pic of him examining the twig - that twig was a source of entertainment for him for about 30 minutes. Not all nice, quiet contemplation, mind you -- after this moment of peace, he ran around like it was a sword, whopping and hollering like a true 3-year-old boy!!




We took some 'family' pics too. I like the one with all of us. Yup - it was on Sunday, and the RIDERS did win :-)

Then me with the boys (John's artistic photo skills coming through here). That's about as good as it could get when I had a deathgrip on Landon to keep him on my knee, and Arlan was crying or whining 99% of the time!!

The picture of Arlan on John shows what Arlan spent most of Saturday doing...lying on us. He just wanted to be held. He laid across my chest as I was laying back on the couch; feet dangling off the couch, body across my chest, head resting on my arm. Then he'd lift his head, bite my arm (HARD I tell you), and put his head back down. A minute later, CHOMP!, and lay his head back down. You couldn't help but feel sorry for him, although it is so tiring when they're miserable. But John and I did just sit back and soak up some snuggle time ... thankful that Aunty Rosemary and Uncle Bob are wonderful hosts who didn't grumble about Arlan's fussing (to our faces anyway!), and that Landon was entertained solely by being somewhere else. Phew!

This week Arlan is still fussy, and Landon is more and more jealous of the attention Arlan's getting. So Landon's starting making Arlan noises, grunting and pointing instead of using words, and whining. So fun. Love my life, really!

But, Arlan is saying more words. Still loves "burhhhhs!" (birds). Now also says "cah" (car), "truh" (truck), "buh" (bus), "bah" (bottle), "reh" (red), "spoo" (spoon). Oh yeah, and he has been fussing away in his high chair too, which I've been putting down to a sore mouth. But nope - he actually wanted utensils! Silly mom...so I gave him a spoon and fork tonight, and he happily ate almost everything up, using the spoon and fork!! WHERE'S MY BABY!!! *sigh* he's growing up WAY too fast....

until next time...

We're home again :-)

We are home again after having a nice visit in Saskatoon. Landon had an absolute blast, and did NOT want to leave this morning at all!! I kind of wanted to stay too, we were having quite a nice time!! Poor Arlan needed to get home though - poor kid. He's had an awful fever all weekend, I think it's due to teething as there are no other symptoms. So he has been MISERABLE! Fever that we've been treating, and he has no energy ... sits on us most of the time, will play a bit, and then needs to sleep. Not the usual fun Arlan we're used to, that's for sure.
But Arlan did perk up when we went to Lilja's 2nd birthday party on Sunday ... it was about the only time he was spry!! He really enjoyed the activity, and the toys!! He particularly liked Noah's Wiggles guitar...

The reason for the fever: well at least 1 tooth has popped through. His first molar on the bottom right. Now, he only has 2 teeth on top ... why he's already popping out a molar!!?? But, I'm remembering Landon getting 6 teeth in one week at age 15 months...Arlan will be 15 months next week. So maybe we're in for a bout of teething here, and we'll see some more come in the top, as well as this molar (maybe an eye tooth or two, by the looks of his poor, red eyes).

Landon had so much fun at Lilja's, he didn't want to leave, and has asked many times to go back!! Lilja got some cool gifts for her birthday, and Landon was in there enjoying them - especially a Tonka dumptruck, and a play-and-learn centre (fisher price). He was very patient though, through the gift-opening. It must've been SO hard for him, but he waited and let Lilja open her own gifts. It just about killed him to let her get that dump-truck opened..... I was very proud of him. He did, however, blow her candles out for her on the birthday cake before any of us could even blink!! I don't think the cake even made it all the way on to the table, and POOF!! lol But the candles were re-lit and Lilja had her turn too :-)

Other than that - John golfed with Brian (I bowed out, as I didn't want to leave sick Arlan with Aunty Rosemary, and wouldn't have enjoyed myself worrying about him anyway). I did a couple of runs with Brian - pushing my pace and distance (while it was a nice, easy run for him as he's running a half-marathon next weekend), we had nice dinners, and it was a really good time.

The driving was fine - if you can stand 4,312,937 questions from Landon!! "What's that truck carrying?", "Why is your blinker on?", "Why does grass grow here?". And then Landon's statement about an hour outside of Calgary "I wanna go to Kapuskasing!!!" aiaiaiai (Aunty Rosemary read him a story with Kapuskasing in it!! LOL). We were quite happy to let Landon out and get away from question period, that's for sure. And to think, Arlan will be doing the same thing in 2 years!! aAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGGGGHHHH

Now back to reality, and what appears to be fall. I will get some pics up this week I hope... Until next time...

A couple of shots from September...

Arlan LOVES to wear our shoes. He's always slipping some on and then attempting to walk. Here he is this morning with John's shoes on!! LOL

Landon loves dad's new workbench. He was very proud of his organization job, and was showing it to me yesterday like a peacock with his chest puffed out!!! LOL He sat up there for 45 minutes or so, rearranging the wrenches. Too funny

On another note, we discovered last night that Arlan likes sushi of all things! Yup - he had some of my california roll and was quite pleased with it. Stinker. Landon still won't even come close to a piece of sushi ...

Playing with Iden

Iden came over and entertained Landon for a day. It was such a treat - they played so well together. I sure hope he can come back soon, I really enjoyed having him here.

We went to the park in the morning -- they climbed and slid and swung (swang? swinged?).

Then an afternoon snack for all the kids. Arlan loved the goldfish the most :-) of course

Some popsicles too, especially after playing outside, it was so hot.

Arlan loved both watching the big boys and playing with them as much as possible. Little stinker. I'm not sure Iden quite knew what to make of the little imitator following them around!! Landon mostly ignores Arlan, Iden just growled at him LOL

Maybe THAT'S why they ask so many questions...

If the answers that I give to Landon's 1 million questions a day are even half as entertaining as the answers Landon gives to my questions, it explains why he asks so many questions!!!!

Landon just told me he doesn't want to have a penis anymore, he doesn't like it. I asked him what he would have instead. He's walking away from me (naked, of course), saying he'd have a bum in front, and a penis in the back (pointing to his body accordingly). "That's a good idea, right mom?" *ok*

So I think I should remember his answers to all of these questions we pose to him. They are quite amusing. Some other examples:

He told his babysitter that "Bees unscrew the lightbulbs and put their honey in there, and that's how they work." I don't know if that's how lightbulbs work, or how the bees work, but it's an interesting point to ponder....

Ah well, I will put more of these 'learnings' in here as I come across them!! Until then, we are enjoying another (close to) 30' day, and dreading the end of summer (and the approach of 'less play outside winter'!! ugh)

Floating the Bow

Some ducks were "charging" our raft as we came to downtown. Sooooooo cute!! (yes we fed them ... bad us)

Our starting point was Bowness Park (west end of Calgary). Hard to believe we were even IN Calgary.




Can you tell I was absolutely LOVING IT!! Perfectly clear blue skies, hot weather, tons of sun, and NO KIDS! LOL

Our view of Calgary downtown as we came up to it.

Whoops -- where have the days gone!

Aunty Allison was here for a visit - Arlan of course checked her out, and once he determined that she was ok, she was REALLY ok!! LOL Both boys loved visiting and playing with her -- and Allison got the best form of birth control ever (gotta love kids!). Ah well. We didn't do as much this year as we did last year when she was here, I think because Arlan needs to nap at home now I don't have the same 'freedom'. But she and I did "float the Bow" (drop a raft in to the Bow River, and float downstream) ... it was 30' and clear blue skies that Friday, it was WONDERFUL!!

Other than that - we've been hanging out at home. Iden spent a day with Landon last week, they had a lot of fun. It was cute to watch them - they'd play, then get sick of each other and go their separate ways, then they'd play together again. I didn't see any hitting going on, so Landon must've realized he can just go play on his own - he doesn't need to hit the other kid to make them leave!! LOL

Arlan now copies every single thing that Landon does. EVERYTHING! Landon was humming / moaning / singing into the empty water can (making a lovely sound!), and Arlan was right over there. Landon has to 'bite' the top of the umbrella pole, Arlan got right up there too. Landon hands on the cross bar on the swingset, so does Arlan!! Arlan follows him around ALL day long, doing everything his big bro does. The nicest times are when Landon plays back ... like they chase each other pushing trucks around the back yard, or they'll play in the sandbox together, that type of thing. Makes my heart melt :-D heh heh

I've also noticed Arlan is starting to stand his ground and fight back a bit. We've finally just got to the point where we've implemented the rule: if Arlan is crying or fussing, Landon has to quite doing whatever it is he's doing to him. That also goes for dad ... if Landon starts crying or fussing, DAD has to quit tormenting LANDON! Landon is getting a bit better with that rule, since "LEAVE HIM ALONE!" just wasn't getting any of us anywhere!!
But Arlan was walking up to Landon and pushing him today -- quite a change. It was ticking Landon off too, as he was trying to eat his "treat" (a Froster from Mac's). I just let it go, I know I'll be refereeing often enough.

Arlan is absolutely HATING his bath these days too! It's weird, when we run the tub, he stands at the edge wanting to get in ... he loves to play in water (and has succeeded in thoroughly soaking himself in the TOILET on occassion!!!! YUCK!). But when you put him in the tub, he is crying full volume and scrabbling to get out. Tonight I got in with him to see if it would help, but nope. I don't know what it is ... I remember Landon going through a phase of being afraid on the faucet, maybe I'll put a sock on it next bathtime to see if that helps. Or else we'll try our big tub (that helped with Landon too).

We took the boys swimming to an outdoor pool on Sunday - they loved it. Landon could JUST touch at the edge, so he had fun playing around. Then he jumped in 100 times, and went down the big slide twice, and then the smaller slide many many more times. Arlan was tentative to start, but we got him in the water and he sort of enjoyed it...although he was clamped on pretty hard! It did convince me to register him for swim lessons though, so both boys are starting lessons mid-Sept (until early Nov). Landon is unparented lessons now, so I will take Arlan in the tot pool while Landon has lessons for some extra water time with mommy! A neighbour and I are doing a kid-swap for lessons, to Landon will go there when Arlan has his lesson, and I'll have Lexi when Camryn has her lesson - works out quite well!

I guess I should get myself ready for bed. A late run tonight has me all keyed up! LOL Until next time (with some pics hopefully...)

Running!

Yup - Arlan has started running, lord help me!!! He doesn't manage it for very long, and sometimes I think he's only running trying to keep up with himself, as he usually ends up faceplanting :-/ But he's doing it, and proud of it too!!

Arlan's fave "game" right now is kicking a ball around. Doesn't matter what size - the big soccer ball, or a small 'hockey' ball. It's amusing to watch him; he'll kick the ball, then walk right over it (the small ones) and then stop, looking down like "Where is it??", then he turns around and is all happy to see the ball and starts kicking it again!! Too cute.

We're just hanging out at home. Trying to move Arlan to one nap a day. Two is really too much for him, as he's having trouble falling asleep at night (some nights not until 9 pm). But one isn't enough, as he doesn't extend that one nap, still keeps it a 1.5 hours and then he's grumpy later in the afternoon. But it's time to get rid of that morning nap I think - poor kid.

Anyways, I hear he's awake from that one nap, so I'd better go get him. Until next time...

Finally, home

We were all glad to get home on Saturday I think. The boys were happy to see their own familiar beds, and I was VERY glad to sleep in mine. John had to go to Olds to play (which is why we were home Saturday), but the rest of us were in bed, sleeping, at 9 pm!! LOL
Landon had day camp all this week again. The first two days were pretty ugly, but these past 3 were just fine. He even left me to run to his instructor when I dropped him off yesterday morning. But he is glad to be done daycamp too. I don't know why exactly he disliked it so much - he just said he wanted to be at home, and I guess that's maybe all it is. We've liked the tired Landon though - he fell asleep on the couch on Tuesday night, at 7:30!!

Other than that, we've just been sniffling our way through the week. We all still have our summer colds :-( Arlan had one bad night while we were camping - with a croupy cough, had me worried. That's the night Landon had a sleep-over with Drew and Bailey as I wasn't sure if Arlan would sleep much, but he did after a short 'episode' at about 9:30 or so. If the boys aren't better on Monday, I'm taking them in. It'll be 3 weeks at that point, so it's time to check ears and chests I think.

I've started running more regularly over the past weeks. Liz got me going, as I ran twice with her when they were here. I've also started running once a week with the mom of one of Landon's friends from swim class. I might even work myself up to a 10K this fall ... hopefully either Thanksgiving weekend, or the Hallowe'en Howl in late October.

So that's the scoop from here. Until next time...

Landon's FIRST camping trip

Landon most DEFINITELY loved camping!! He's been asking to go to Uncle Greg's trailer since we got home!! Well, actually, he wanted to come home (he told us on Friday "I really really really really really really really want to go home" ... but when asked further, he wanted to bring the trailer home with us!!).

Rhonda and Clay came to visit and camp with us too, which was awesome!! It was great to see them again. Drew and Landon played together lots (Drew will be 5 in October). Bailey (who's 8) found herself a little friend in the trailer right beside them (Wrangler's trailer ...) and so we didn't see them much. They were actually "working" at the Clearwater Lake store for the cool and rainy days!! So cute!

Grandma and Grandpa came out on Friday, despite the rain. Grandpa helped Landon and the others roast some marshmallows during a lull in the sprinkling. Then we headed to White Bear for the lawnmower races (this is done every year in Whitebear to kick off the Kyle Rodeo weekend). What a treat ... I've never seen anything like that, that's for sure!!! They had 'smoke-shows' (burning rubber!! LOL), and raced garden tractors. Landon's highlights were going for a ride on the back of the monster truck, and going for a ride in the ambulance (depending on when you ask him, each of these take their turn as favourite). I should clarify - the ambulance ride was with Aunty Yvonne, who was on call for the lawnmower races. She and her partner Doug drove Landon around White Bear for a few minutes while the rest of us had supper in the bar :-D John and I also enjoyed learning that what 'they' say is true, White Bear really DOES have the best wings EVER! LOL















Here's just a good shot of Landon playing with trucks - really concentrating. I like this photo. He played with his new-found friend Kris's trucks the entire time we were there. As it turns out, Kris is the son of another friend from University that I hadn't seen in, oh, 16 years or so!!! So Rhonda, Tracy and I had a good time catching up with each other too!! We were able to get to a drive-in movie together too (along with my sis) which was great ... we saw The Hangover - a great movie to watch with friends.

Landon has entered into the "lookatme!" stage -- with everything he does!! It's either "watch this!" or "Look at me!" or "I'll show you". yay

LOTS of firsts for Landon this week: 1) camping, of course; 2) sleeping in a tent -- his preferred sleeping arrangment for the week was sleeping with dad in the tent; 3) sleeping in the bunk (of the trailer); 4) flying a kite; and 5) having a sleep-over with Drew and Bailey (which might've been his preferred sleeping arrangement, but we figured one night was enough!!). It was a great week, and we are all looking forward to doing it again next year!! I can HARDLY wait!!

On Thursday it was windy, so Landon got a chance to fly his first kite. He really enjoyed it actually -- a great activity for him, running!!! LOL

Arlan's first camping trip

Arlan LOVED camping at Clearwater - even though it was chilly (and a bit rainy I hate to say).
He made a little friend -- Wrangler was camped beside Rhonda & Clay, who came down to join us for the dreary week!!


YAY - SO much fun!! This time mom was thinking "Arlan learned to walk just in time"
Arlan enjoyed the playground too - although he didn't spend nearly as much time there as Landon did.



The view is MUCH better up on Aunty's shoulders!

Checking out the dock at the beach when we first arrived. We spent one day on the beach of the three full days we were there. The next was windy and cool, Friday was rainy :-(

August long weekend wedding :-)

Ok - this isn't really about the "Life and Times of Arlan and Landon" as they weren't there, but I love the pics!! LOL Landon and Arlan spent August long weekend entertaining Grandma and Grandpa on the farm. They were very busy -- Landon helped Grandpa shoot gophers, pick up the paper (which involved going to the bar to drink [root] beer and eat chips, and clean out bins). Arlan showed off his new walking skills, and perfected his stair- and couch-climbing abilities.

John and I had a weekend AWAY!! GLORIOUS! Friday we drove from the farm to Winnipeg, where we met up with the Tremendons, and continued out to Kenora for a fabulous wedding (hence the pic of the people kissing). I've a couple pics of us gals (the Tremendons), and one of "the guys" too :-) What a great looking bunch we all were!! Especially the bride and groom (congrats again to Trish & Phil!!!). The outside pics are taken at Trish's family cottage ... a great place for a wedding, that's for sure!

The wedding reception and dance was on the MS Kenora. The water shot is just that - a shot from the boat. An absolutely glorious place for the reception - we all had an absolute blast.

Sunday we went back to Winnipeg. We lunched with Aunty Margaret, checking out her new pad (VERY nice). Then over to Pam & Kevin's for the night. We went OUT for wings, visited with Wes a bit, and then sang to "American Idol" on the Wii!! TOO funny.

Monday was a long drive back to the farm!! I was glad to get back to see my boys though. Unfortunately, neither they nor I lost our summer colds over that long weekend :-( But we all had lots of fun.

More of Visits with cousins

We enjoyed a wonderful BBQ at Uncle Rob's brother-in-law's brothers house (got that?) on Saturday July 25. It was a beautiful day, and a wonderful time. Even Arlan got into the festitivies!!! LOL

I love these pics -- Arlan's modeling one of the hats that was purchased that day, and checking my messages for me (one of his favourite things to do!).

Landon had so much fun playing with Isabel and Isabel's "other cousin" Jake ... and this water rocket! They spent plenty of time shooting that thing off!! There were also MANY trucks for Landon to hoard, er I mean play with. He found an ambulance and wouldn't put it down in case someone else touched it. He would climb the play- structure and slide with it clutched in his hands!!

Visiting with Thomson & Izzy

Aunty Liz, Uncle Rob, cousins Thomson and Isabel came to visit!! They arrived July 24, and thankfully we had pretty nice weather all weekend long.

Arlan absolutely LOVED all the action - he was in his glory, giggling and smiling and turning circles. I think he must've thought "I learned to walk JUST IN TIME!!" LOL

We spent some time hanging out -- watching a few cartoons.

But we also managed to get out and "play" a bit too. Everyone (but me) did some shopping and bought cowboy boots and hats (now I'm the odd-one out ... or is that the 'not-so-odd' one out???). We also headed downtown to Prince's Island Park to play at the splash pool, and to feed the birds (right beside the big sign that says "Don't feed the birds" which we all somehow failed to see). Landon had a blast in the water, and even Arlan enjoyed exploring a bit too, although he was a bit more timid.

Quickie...

A quick post to appease Nikki LOL

We are home and settling back in after a busy few weeks. Liz, Rob and the kids were here the 24 through 28. Then John, I and the boys headed to Sask where Landon and Arlan spent August long with Grandma & Grandpa. John and I continued on to Kenora for a wedding, spending 1 night in Winnipeg on the way back to get the boys. Then to Clearwater Lake (at Kyle, SK) for 4 days of camping -- our first time out with the kids. We had Greg and Yvonne's trailer, which was good because we had more rain than sun :-( We got back home yesterday. Today was washing clothes and grocery-shopping.

I will upload pics and tell stories with them hopefully in the next few days. Landon has day camp all this week, so I might get some time. However Arlan seems to be liking only 1 nap a day these days, so I might not get much time *shrug* We'll see I guess.

Until next time...

Landon's day camp

Well, every time I drop Landon off, he's telling me he doesn't want to go to daycamp, and he's cried 3 out of 4 mornings this week. But the girls tell me that as soon as I turn around and start walking away, Landon's just fine. Which I totally believe - it's just a show for mom!! A big improvement today - when I went to pick Landon up, he was so busy playing with a little friend that he just waved and kept playing. The first three days he gave me rib-splitting hugs as soon as he saw me. Only one more day left of camp this week ... we'll see how it goes. He swims tomorrow, which he loves, so it might be easier. Of course, Thomson and Issy will be here so he likely won't want to leave them. We'll have to see.

All this daycamping has been screwing poor Arlan up. I have to wake him up to go and pick up Landon - and that makes him grumpy throughout the afternoon. He doesn't get a long enough sleep in the morning, but doesn't want to lay down in the afternoon, and then just a short snooze means grumpy later in the day. :-/ So from that perspective I'll be glad when day camp is over!

Liz, Rob and the kidlets will be here late tonight (like 1 am). Looking forward to a few days of frenzied fun!! Don't know what all we'll do yet. Weather's supposed to be quite nice, Sat super-hot, so we can hit a spray pool or something I'm sure!

That's about it ... until next time...

We've been busy..

Sorry for so few posts - we've been busy, doing summery things.
Uncle Neville and Aunt Mary were here for a few days (July 9 - 12), we had a great visit. I even got to golf with John and Uncle Neville while Aunt Mary watched the boys ... what a TREAT! Thank you AGAIN Aunt Mary - we truly appreciate it.
And we've been getting a project done -- putting rock beside the house. We are helping our neighbour out quite a bit with this project, too ... Which means it's a LOT bigger than it needed to be. But we worked up the dead grass, moved some soil around to level things out, put landscaping fabric down, and John's moving rock as I type (I put a couple of shifts in earlier today). He will get plenty close to done tonight - will likely be able to finish up tomorrow. I'm so HAPPY! That's been a big project that we've just been putting off, it'll be nice to be done. And it'll look good too!!

Other than that - just getting prepped for Aunty Liz, Uncle Rob, Thomson and Isabel's arrival this Friday! THAT is going to be AWESOME!! The weather promises to be gorgous, and the kids will have an absolute BLAST! YAY!! Spray pools, here we come...

Anyways, I'll sign off now - will try to get a few more pics posted a bit more frequently ... will definitely have some next week, after the visit from the cousins. until then...

Some more pics...

We bought Landon a brand-new backpack, in preparation for his first time at day camp. He LOVES it!! He picked it out himself (it's CARS, of course), and then refused to take it off for about 3 days. Finally, he filled it with his cars, because that meant Arlan couldn't get them!! LOL
He got to use it today - he went to daycamp at Cardel Place. 9 - noon, every day this week. He was pretty shy when we first arrived, but went off with his group with no real fuss. The girls said he was just fine, so hopefully he was. He was quite happy to see me though - a BIG hug when I picked him up. And he'll be in bed shortly, I think they tuckered him out!! hopefully he'll enjoy the rest of the week too.
Landon and dad built a SugarShack that Uncle Neville and Aunt Mary brought for him (from Banff). He calls it the "ShiggieShack" It took some time for Landon to get enthused, but once he figured out how to glue he LOVED it. Here he's gluing the Canadian Flag in above the door of the shack.

And a pic of Arlan - OH so happy, right when he wakes up! I snapped this pic when he first woke up from a nap. The happiest little monkey around...

Arlan's Walking!!

There's no denying it - Arlan is a walker!! And look how proud he is, too!!

He has been taking a few steps here and there for almost a month, but the past two days he's really been making 'strides' (pun intended). And today, he was practising all over the yard and house! So sweet to see (and a bit sad for mommy too!). These pictures are from last night (Sunday)

Arlan fun walking!

One of the fave passtimes for both boys is chasing each other around and around and around. They also like to 'smash' their respective toys together. I'm going to go nuts...slowly but surely, I'm going to go nuts. LOL

Landon FUN

Landon actually did some 'crafts' with mommy today!! I can hardly believe it ... first time he spent any amount of time doing anything like this with me (outside of painting and play-doh I guess). He's been wanting to make a caterpillar like in the story Miss Bindergarten celebrates the 100th day of Kindergarten. It's a rainy day today, so we got it done. Landon cut out all the stripes and glued them on, plus the grass (the block on the bottom right ... it actually sticks up a bit from the paper), and glued all the other pieces on. So we hung it up in his room, and he's a little bit proud (well, so is mommy!).

Uncle Neville and Aunt Mary were here Sat night for a visit. Aunt Mary has a conference in Banff all week, then they're back here Thursday until Sunday again. It was a good visit - Landon still has a sweet spot for Uncle Neville, that's for sure. And after taking his time to check them both our thoroughly, Arlan settled right in to enjoying their company too. I'm really looking forward to Friday - Aunt Mary is going to babysit the boys while Uncle Neville, John and I golf :-D

This pic is from Landon having so much fun in the neighbours blow-up waterslide. I wasn't there that day, John took the boys over. I guess Landon simply climbed up, slid down, climbed up, slid down ... all afternoon. He had a blast!

Arlan stats

Arlan got his 1 year shots on June 24. He was 22 pounds, 30" long (a bit heavier, a bit shorter (??) than the previous weeks appointment with the doc). He was pretty miserable the following day - due to the shots (fever) and he caught Landon's cold too. But neither bothered him much after that, little trooper!

Arlan words...and a tooth

Arlan is starting to say a few words now. Grandpa taught him "birdie" at the farm as they watched the birds out the window. Arlan LOVES birds (any animals really) ... and points at them telling me "birhh!" all day long.
He also calls for da-da-da-da-da in the mornings, to come give him a 'soos'. And the other day John was getting Arlan changed and I could hear: John "Arlan, don't!" Arlan "i bite!" LOL So cute.
Arlan's also getting close to a word for "juice", and "up" (not bup like Landon still says!! lol). We'll see what other words come out in the upcoming days and weeks...

Also Arlan got his 6th tooth - came through Thursday morning. He'd been working at it all the time at the farm, so I'm glad it made it out finally.

Sask Travels

We had such a great trip back to Saskatchewan. Both boys travel very well, and they even behaved (for the most part) in the restaurants!! lol
We made it to Grandma & Grandpa's on the 27. Landon gave Grandpa puppy-dog eyes and got a ride in the grain truck that night (Grandpa was worried the neighbours would think him nuts, driving the grain truck through the fields, etc!!LOL).

Then Sunday we headed to Frontier Days in Swift Current. Well, Arlan and Grandma stayed at the farm - too hot for wee ones, and he would need to be home for bed early anyways, so they spent some quality time together.
We weren't sure if Landon would like the rides, so we bought coupons (not the wristband). Well ... he LOVED the rides. After about 4 rides we were going to buy MORE coupons (of course), Landon pulling me along, saying "I LIKE this place!!!!" So we did some more rides, introduced Landon to corn dogs, avoided the games like the plague, mom ate a caramel apple (YUM!), and a few more rides. Then to Carla and Dave's (well, Jackson and Ryders house according to Landon) for the night. We did make it back to the fair to watch the fireworks with Grandpa though. I wish you could've seen his face (read: I wish I could've captured his expression on film). His eyes were so big, and he was sooooo excited. I think Grandpa had fun watching the fireworks with Landon too!
We spend the night at Carla and Dave's after watching fireworks. Landon outlasted all the other kids ... and many adults too. Our little rockstar! *sigh* but we all had a ton of fun.

Monday was a quiet day - we had lunch at Carla's with Mark and Tanya (so good to see them), then out to the farm where we were all quite sleepy (save Landon of course, who napped on the ride out...). Aunty Yvonne came out to the farm as well, it was good to visit with her too!!
Tuesday we went to Moose Jaw to check out Grandma and Grandpa's house - looking pretty darned good. Then a lunch, and a trip to the spray park which Landon loved again. He sure loves water!! he didn't go in the kiddie pool, but had a blast in the park, especially loving the excavator. Some ice cream on the way out of town, and Landon was fast asleep again. So much so that he didn't wake up when we got home so I put him on the couch thinking Arlan would wake him. Nope - so after another hour on the couch I put him to bed thinking maybe he'd be out all night. He didn't so much as flinch when I put him to bed ... but woke up 30 minutes later full of energy for the night (of course!!). Gotta love that kid! Arlan on the other hand went to bed by 7 (give or take 30 minutes) every night, no matter what had happened during the day. So very different those two!

Then Wed we came home again - it was sure nice to be home again!! I did make a trip back to the Hat Thursday for a funeral Friday morning though. That was a tough day. Thankfully the boys travel well, and they were quite well behaved at Julie's too (sorry about the footstool again ... send us the bill!). Jenay watched the boys Friday morning while I was at the funeral service, and we came back to Calgary. Now there's no travel plans for several weeks, and I'm thankful for it!!

Haircuts!!

Here's Landon getting his hair cut nice and short for summer. It really is short - hard for me to get used to.

But not as big a change as Arlan!! Where did my baby go? Here's my little man though ...
His hair is still curly, but it's so short it's only a wave right now :-) And still so baby-soft. But he sure looks like a little boy now instead of a baby!! I kept his curls from by his ears though ... they've been so long for so long!! LOL Now we've got them forever.